


be quiet

by floristyunho



Category: The Boyz (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Crushes, Fluff, M/M, Mutual Pining, Strangers to Lovers, Tension
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-26
Updated: 2020-07-09
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:54:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 9,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24935638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/floristyunho/pseuds/floristyunho
Summary: while chanhee never stopped talking about everything that was on his mind, sunwoo could only listen to him and enjoy the sound of his voice, never saying a word to him.- in which chanhee find outs that words aren't always necessary.
Relationships: Choi Chanhee | New/Kim Sunwoo
Comments: 6
Kudos: 94





	1. Chapter 1

"i just got on the train," chanhee announced, holding his phone between his head and his shoulder as he was talking to his friend younghoon and both his hands were occupied. he was trying to get a ticket and hold his jacket without it slipping off his arm. "it's not packed but i obviously still would've preferred if my car never broke."

as he took his ticket he looked around and found a place to sit where there weren't too many people around.

he could finally take his phone in his hand and talk normally but while he was heading to the seat, he didn't notice the person who had just gotten on the train and slightly bumped into him. he stepped back and put his phone aside for a moment, looking at the red haired boy he had bumped into. "i'm so sorry," he quickly apologized.

the other only lifted his hand up slightly, reassuring that it was alright. before even giving him a chance to say anything, chanhee brought his phone close to his ear again and proceeded to talk with younghoon, sitting at the spot he had chosen.

"couldn't you just pick me up with your car, you don't even live that far away. it's not fair, i really don't like public transport and bumping into random people," chanhee just kept on whining until he ended up being called a spoiled brat by his own friend and being told that he wasn't going to die from breathing the same air as a few other people on the train.

he rolled his eyes and huffed, bringing his free hand up to fix his bangs slightly. "okay, fine, i'll see you on campus. drive carefully."

almost as soon as he hung up, chanhee took his headphones out of his bag and connected them to his phone. he then listened to music while looking out of the window until the end of the train ride.

he let out a quiet sigh of relief around twenty minutes later when it was finally time to get off. on his way to the faculty he met with another one of his friends, kevin, who would always bother him to do different club activities with him and this time was probably no exception.

"hey," chanhee greeted with a smile and walked over to kevin.

"oh hey," kevin smiled back at the pink haired boy. "did you just arrive? i didn't see your car."

chanhee's smile suddenly became awkward. "my car is at repair, i came here with the train because younghoon didn't want to drive me here."

"well, maybe he's too busy driving his new boyfriend around." kevin put his hands in his pockets and the two boys started walking towards the entrance gates.

chanhee looked at kevin and raised his eyebrow up at him. "younghoon having a boyfriend?" kevin nodded in response. "are you sure you've checked your facts? i think that if my best friend had a boyfriend i'd probably know about it."

the other boy shrugged and just continued walking, leaving chanhee to frown and have more and more questions. but those were things that he had to ask younghoon about. it wasn't kevin's business to know details about this even though he apparently already knew much more than him.

"are you coming to the drama club today?" kevin asked as they reached the entrance.

"what?" the pink haired boy snapped out of his thoughts and looked at kevin again. "oh... uh. no, i don't think i'm going to have time. i have a meeting with the student council and i don't know how long it would take."

the other tilted his head back and groaned in frustration. "can't you just skip for once? you barely ever join us anymore."

"i'm sorry, i promise i will come tomorrow." chanhee patted kevin on the shoulder and gave him a slight apologetic smile before the two boys went in different directions, heading to their lectures.

chanhee stopped by the vending machine to buy himself a bottle of cola while his thoughts were still occupied by what kevin had just told him. was he supposed to believe that so easily or was younghoon really hiding from him?

he shook his head and took the bottle, turning to head to his classroom and proceeding to once again bump into someone. and it somehow was the same red haired boy he had seen on the train, he recognized him almost immediately.

it was so embarrassing. today wasn't his lucky day.

"oh my god, i bumped into you on the train too right? i'm really so sorry for being so distracted." his eyebrows curled upwards as his lips curved into a slight pout. "if i can make up for it, tell me."

once again the other wasn't saying anything at all even though now he was given the chance to speak. yet he was just looking at chanhee and only shook his head, putting his hands up. he couldn't really say anything but at least it was obvious enough what he was trying to tell chanhee with his gestures. or at least he hoped it was obvious.

"okay then, if you're sure about it." chanhee smiled at the guy and looked at his phone to check the time, realizing that he had to go. "i'm gonna be late for class, bye," he waved at the red head before shoving the bottle of cola in his bag and running off.

luckily, he managed to reach the classroom on time and sat at the back row next to the window where he usually sat unless someone else had taken his place.

he let out a sigh and rested his head on top of the table, closing his eyes and breathing heavily. he wasn't the best at sports and he wasn't athletic at all. he didn't even do exercises of any sort. therefore now he was out of breath just because he was running to the classroom and climbed a flight of stairs really fast to get there.

but he didn't even care about being on time all that much. he just felt too awkward being around the red haired boy and wanted to go somewhere else as soon as possible even though today was the first time he saw him.


	2. Chapter 2

"hey sunwoo."

"huh?" the red haired boy looked up as his friend eric approached him while he was still at the vending machine. "i just got iced coffee for you but i didn't know you'd be here for the first class so i just took whatever," he said as he gave the other the second bottle of coffee he was holding.

"thanks," eric smiled and took the bottle. he took a sip before talking to sunwoo again. "i wasn't actually planning on coming this early but i pulled an all nighter to finish the assignment and i was too bored at home."

"sounds though." sunwoo patted eric on the back.

after that, the two headed towards their class. their professor always arrived late so they didn't really worry about being late either.

"so who were you talking to?" eric asked before taking another sip from his iced coffee while they were walking.

sunwoo shrugged. "i have no idea. some dude i've never seen around the campus before but somehow today he managed to bump into me twice."

the shorter hummed and thought about it for a bit. "i think i've seen him hanging around with some people from the drama club." sunwoo only huffed as if he could expect anything more from someone looking and acting like chanhee did. he did hear a fair portion of his talk on the phone while they were on the train so it made quite of an impression. "but i'm not sure if it was him."

"well you don't see many people with pink hair walking around, so it's most likely him."

when they reached their classroom, sunwoo opened the door and they both walked inside. thankfully, their professor still wasn't there. they took their usual seats in the middle and put their bags on the table, taking their phones out.

"what are you gonna do after lectures?" eric asked while checking his notifications.

"student council." the younger groaned because he wasn't very happy with the response. "but if you come with me or at least wait for me, we can hang out later."

"are y'all gonna do anything interesting there?"

sunwoo scratched the back of his neck and squinted slightly, trying to remember if he even knew what the meeting was going to be about. "wait." he quickly checked his phone to look at the message the student council members had been sent in the group chat. "well, i have bad news, no one specifies why we're meeting. so you'd never know if it would be boring or not."

"as if school council could ever be interesting."

"oh, come on, as if you've ever been to at least one meeting."

"me??? go look at yourself first, you've never gone in your life either, i don't even know how did you suddenly decide to become a member. you're not even that organized or serious enough about anything to-"

before they could continue bickering, eric's sentence was interrupted by the sound of the door opening and their professor walking in. everyone in the classroom sat up straight in their chairs and looked at the older man, who started his lecture almost right after, not wanting to waste any more time.

sunwoo and eric took their notebooks out but wrote things down only from time to time to make it believable that they were paying attention. the rest of the lecture they were just spending it on their phones or talking to each other.

that's how most of their lectures always went except the more important ones where they really had to write things down because it wasn't likely they were going to be repeated more than once before their exams.

at lunch they sat in the cafeteria at the same table as the rest of their friends.

the moment sunwoo left his tray of food on the table and sat down, he noticed that everyone except eric was just staring at him.

sunwoo threw them a glare. "y'all gonna say what's going on or are you planning to keep looking dumb staring at me like that?"

"don't you know already?"

"no? what am i supposed to know?"

juyeon took his phone out of his pocket and scrolled around a little bit until he handed it to sunwoo. on it there was a photo of him and chanhee from earlier that day when they were at the vending machine.

"you're pretty famous among the third years right now," juyeon said, causing the others to snicker quietly. "the star of the drama club has quite a lot of fanboys and fangirls stalking him, don't be surprised if you get caught talking with him."

sunwoo rolled his eyes and groaned, frowning afterwards as he kept looking at the picture for a while. he then returned the phone to juyeon.

"that's bullshit, i didn't say a single word to him, he just bumped into me and that's all. i don't even know who that dude is or what's so special about him to have an entire fanbase."

"even if it is like that, now a lot of people are trying to find out who you are."

the red haired boy groaned once again and crossed his arms on top of the table, burying his face against them in frustration.

eric scooted closer and wrapped his arm around sunwoo's shoulders. "there, there. you should just try to avoid seeing him anywhere until this passes, i'm more than sure that with an attitude and face like yours no one would be interested in knowing you for too long~."

"eric if you don't get off me i'm going to punch you," sunwoo muttered out, his voice slightly muffled.

"awhhh, look how cute," the other responded with a cute voice while patting sunwoo's shoulder but looked at the others with a slightly terrified look.

thankfully, the rest of the lunch went by peacefully and by the end of it, sunwoo wasn't thinking about all that anymore.


	3. Chapter 3

eric ended up agreeing to go with sunwoo to the student council meeting just because he had nothing better to do while waiting until they could hang out. also, sunwoo probably needed support of some sort since he had never gone to a place like that and he was completely unfamiliar with all these things and what he was supposed to do. of course, eric wasn't aware either but at least they were going to be dumb and confused together which was the most important thing.

"i still don't understand why would you sign up for this voluntarily." the blond whispered as they walked into the meeting hall of the faculty where quite a few students had already gathered. "don't you value your free time?"

"i'd much rather do something." sunwoo grabbed eric by the sleeve of his shirt and dragged him towards two chairs where they sat. "also, it's not like i didn't give you an option to either wait for me somewhere outside or come with me."

"well if hyunjoon wasn't acting like he's too busy with his literature club and didn't cut me off, i would've had something better to do."

the taller scratched the back of his head and smiled awkwardly at his best friend. "has no one told you?"

"what is anyone supposed to tell me?" eric raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"uh. hyunjoon never ended up actually joining the club. he decided he didn't want to do any club activities."

"oh?" eric frowned and looked off into empty space for a while as he was processing that information. he opened and closed his mouth about two or three times, changing his mind on what to say. "so he-"

sunwoo's smile turned even more awkward as he patted eric on the back and spoke through gritted teeth. "yeah. he's just avoiding you extra hard and we've all known about it."

"and he dared to eat his lunch so calmly in front of me, thinking i'd never find out!"

the older chuckled but shushed eric when his voice was gradually getting louder.

while eric was spamming hyunjoon to interrogate him about what sunwoo told him, the latter noticed how the room was getting more and more full by the minute. soon, there wasn't enough place for some of the people and a few had to be standing at the back of the room because there weren't any free chairs. most of the students in the room were first years. sunwoo doubted that most of them genuinely wanted to be there. some of them must have signed up because they didn't want to do anything else and still didn't want to waste their time, just like sunwoo.

he didn't want to seem paranoid about it or anything but it was difficult to not notice how some of the third years that he managed to recognize were throwing him glances from time to time. of course, it was probably not intentional most of the time and people were mostly searching for faces they know but he couldn't help but feel uneasy when he knew there were a few people who were willing to go out of their way and stalk him just because they saw him bumping into someone once.

thankfully, he temporarily stopped worrying about that as soon as the meeting started. most of it was just an introduction to the student council for the first years - what it was all about (no matter how obvious some of the things they said were), what charities they were collecting money for and supporting, some of the more notable achievements and donations they've made so far, all that kind of things.

finally, they introduced the new president and vice president. since the fourth years supposedly needed more time to study to graduate, new third years had to be chosen. 

"some of us gathered to discuss who would be suitable for the new president and vice president," sangyeon, the now previous president, started, "so we chose jacob bae from the biological sciences course for vice president and choi chanhee from the physics course for president."

as he introduced them, the said boys walked in front of the audience and bowed lightly while the rest were clapping to congratulate them. but one of them obviously wasn't clapping.

"you're fucked," eric whispered to sunwoo to tease as he noticed how his friend was just staring at chanhee. sunwoo didn't respond at all.

"from now on, if you have any questions or suggestions or need anything else regarding the council, go to them," sangyeon concluded before going back to his seat.

chanhee and jacob stood there until the end of the meeting, explaining a little bit more about their plans and searching for more volunteers to help with management. and that was all. that was basically the whole point of the meeting that day.

"let's get out of here." sunwoo said when it finally ended and got up, picking his bag up from the floor and heading towards the exit, being followed by eric soon after.

as soon as they got out, sunwoo groaned. "this is so annoying. i've never seen this dude before, why do i suddenly have to see him again and again everywhere i go and all in the span of one day?"

"maybe the universe is trying to send you signals," eric teased and chuckled. but he suddenly wished he never said that when sunwoo slapped the back of his head.

" _maybe_ if no one ever associated me with that dude, he'd never look so fucking annoying. and i don't have an option to just quit until next year."

"i'm sure everything is going to turn out just fine, dude. just try not worrying and thinking about it too much." the younger tried to reassure but as of now he wasn't sure how effective it was. "you can come over at my house and we can play video games if you want so you can get your mind off of this."

sunwoo frowned immediately after he heard that. "no way. you know that i'm not coming over at your house when either of your parents are there."

"well, the good news is that neither of them is home."

"you're lying."

"am not!"

sunwoo huffed. "okay then, let's go."


	4. Chapter 4

when the meeting was over, only chanhee, jacob, and sangyeon stayed in the hall.

chanhee was sitting at the edge of one of the tables placed in the room, his arms crossed as he was looking out the window, chewing down on his lower lip nervously while he was thinking. he had zoned out almost completely at one point and wasn't even hearing the conversation that jacob and sangyeon were having. only hearing their voices but not being able to tell apart any of the words.

not that he was even trying to stay focused and figure out what they were saying. he was just staring at the branch of a tree outside and thinking about what kevin had told him earlier. his mind was so occupied by this the entire day that he wasn't even bothered that once again there were people spreading rumors about him around campus. he had almost forgotten about the meeting too but thankfully there was sangyeon to remind him, otherwise he wouldn't have gone.

when jacob and sangyeon noticed how the youngest was just sitting there and staring into nothing, they focused their attention on him.

"he's barely even blinking," jacob mentioned but even that didn't snap chanhee out of his thoughts. "chanhee." still no response. he repeated his name a few more times and still got nothing.

when he was about to go and click his fingers in front of chanhee's face to distract him, the latter just grabbed his wrist and moved his hand away without even shifting his gaze away.

"i can hear you i've just zoned out and i'm too lazy to zone back in," chanhee mumbled out.

"awhhh," both sangyeon and jacob cooed as jacob messed up chanhee's hair a little, finally snapping him out of his daze.

chanhee slapped jacob's hands away and frowned at him before fixing his hair. "don't touch my hair." he pouted and then he got off the table, stepping down on the ground. "has anyone seen younghoon today? he was supposed to be here."

"haven't seen him since last week." sangyeon shrugged and looked at jacob who also didn't know where could younghoon be.

"okay, thanks anyways." after saying that, chanhee took his bag and walked out of the hall, leaving the other two boys to just look at each other confused. but they didn't think too much about it. chanhee was just like that sometimes.

on his way towards the exit of the building, chanhee tried to call younghoon a few times but with no success. so instead of going out and heading towards the train station, he decided to go to the drama club just in case he'd be there or if anyone had seen him. but he believed he had to be there. otherwise, what other reason would he have to not answer his phone? younghoon usually wasn't one to just ignore phone calls.

he went to leave his things in the boys' changing room and looked around while he was doing so. but he didn't see younghoon's things. he let out a sigh, feeling like there was already no point on going to see the others but he was already there either way, he made the astronomical effort of making those few extra steps for the day to go to the club so he might as well see his friends too.

he walked in on around four or five people just sitting on the floor and not doing anything while pretending they were reading their script from time to time and there were three others who were actually rehearsing. of course kevin was from the first ones. when he saw chanhee, kevin immediately waved at him, excitedly gesturing at him to come over.

"hey babes," chanhee said as he went over to kevin, standing next to him and running his fingers through his hair while glancing at the ones who were rehearsing. "have you seen younghoon today?" he then looked down at kevin again who had lightly rested his head against chanhee's hip, looking back at him.

"i think he was here only for one or two lectures then he went home again."

"i see." chanhee nodded slowly before moving to sit next to kevin on the wooden floor, then he took the script out of the latter's hands to take a look at it. it's been a while since he last attended club activities regularly, at this point he barely even knew what they were doing.

unfortunately, now that he was the president of the student council, he felt like he was forced to maintain an even better reputation for himself. which also meant being very active in the club he had signed up for. no one was even pressuring him to do that but he had high expectations about himself and tried to be perfect in everything he did.

kevin leaned closer and hummed, observing the expression on chanhee's face. "are you feeling well, chanhee? you look very... troubled to say the least."

the pink haired boy glared at kevin. not only because he really had too much happening to him in just one day and right now he was starting to get a headache from all these thoughts overwhelming him but also because he really hated being interrupted while he was reading new scripts. and kevin knew it perfectly since he was the one to interrupt most of the time. of course, it wasn't on purpose or anything.

"do you know who is younghoon dating?" he asked just so he wouldn't have to answer kevin's question.

kevin shook his head and leaned his elbow against his knee, resting his head in his palm. "i'm not sure if anyone but him knows. and his boyfriend obviously. don't know if he keeps it a secret or just simply no one cares enough to ask about it."

chanhee nodded lightly and returned the sheets of paper to kevin, looking away and almost zoning out once again.

"this has been bothering you the entire day?" chanhee nodded again in response. kevin squinted and hummed. "do you maybe like him and that's why you're jealous now that he has a boyfriend?"

the other fake gagged, making them both laugh afterwards. "are you kidding me? of course i don't like younghoon. i just hate the fact that my own best friend hides things like that from me when basically everyone else knows about it."

soon after, they were shushed by the others, so they had no other choice but to just sit quietly and learn their script until the end of the club activities for the day.


	5. Chapter 5

"i can drive you home," kevin suggested as he and chanhee walked out of the building. the latter looked at him with his eyebrows slightly raised, making kevin click his tongue and roll his eyes in annoyance. "okay, i can make jacob drive you home while i'm riding in the same car."

chanhee shook his head lightly and chuckled. "thanks, kev, but i already bought a day ticket for the train. so i will think about it if you ask me again tomorrow."

"bold of you to assume i'd offer you my kindness like this a second time." kevin dramatically clutches at his heart as he was turned down by his friend.

"wild of you to think you have any other choice." chanhee grinned at him and patted his shoulder. he then straightened his posture a little and moved his hand away from kevin, taking his phone out of his pocket instead. "i will be heading home now."

"okay, get home safely." kevin smiled at chanhee and then the pink haired boy headed to the train station.

while waiting for his train, he was sitting calmly at a bench and listening to music. he was looking around, too awkward to land his gaze on one thing in case he accidentally looked directly at someone who passed.

he was constantly checking his chats, especially the one with younghoon but unfortunately his best friend hadn't been online since morning.

when he got too frustrated, he just shoved his phone back in his pocket and continued listening to music. he was done worrying about that for the day, he was too fed up.

he got on the train when it arrived but very unfortunately for him, it was packed. a lot of people were getting off work and school. he eventually found himself an empty spot to stand at beside a window and leaned against the hand rail, facing the window so he could look outside.

even though the train was getting more and more packet with every next stop, the ride seemed normal in the beginning. of course, chanhee couldn't have any expectations from a train ride other than getting on the train, riding for a while and then getting off and going home.

but after the fourth stop, there was something that brought his attention. or rather someone.

while looking out the window, he was also focusing on his own reflection from time to time just to check himself out. but as he was doing that, he noticed a familiar red head. and he really cursed his luck because it was the fourth time for the day already when he sees him.

first it was at the morning train on his way to school. of course, nothing weird about that. he's not the only person going to school, after all. and there was no way he would've seen the red haired boy before that in his life just because he was a first year and also because chanhee never got on the train.

the second time at the vending machine was probably some sort of a coincidence. still, nothing weird.

at the student council chanhee was trying a little too hard to pretend he wasn't noticing that sunwoo was there. but being the only one with bright red hair around, it was a little bit difficult for sunwoo to stay unnoticed.

of course, at that point chanhee already knew there were rumours about him that he was supposedly "hitting on" first years already. but there was really nothing he could do about it. after all, they didn't know each other, he didn't even know the younger's name. so it was none of his business what others were saying when he and his friends knew the truth.

but this time it didn't seem like a coincidence. sunwoo was coming from a completely different stop than the one next to school. he hadn't been at school for a while already. so them going back home at the same time from two different places felt weird.

chanhee tilted his head slightly, trying to stay unnoticed as he peeked over his shoulder to look at sunwoo.

needless to say, he did get noticed. sunwoo had been looking at him but he quickly looked away, staring out the window into the distance and acting like he hadn't just been staring at the slightly shorter boy.

chanhee also quickly looked out the window again. he took his phone out and looked over his notification as he was trying to ignore his face burning up because he felt so awkward and uncomfortable.

but if he thought that was the most awkward thing he could experience for the day, he was once again proven wrong.

when he got off the train, sunwoo got off on the same stop. which also made chanhee realize that they supposedly lived close to each other since they got on the same stop on their way to school too.

sunwoo sure did walk quite fast because he had walked way ahead in no time.

he didn't think anything of it and was quickly distracted by that because he got a call from younghoon.

"hello?" he said as he picked up, making his way out of the train station and heading home.

" _i'm sorry i didn't pick up earlier_ ," younghoon immediately apologized. " _i had a lot of work to get done_."

chanhee hummed and raised his eyebeows slightly. "had work more important than lectures, the council or even drama club?"

" _yeah_?"

"are you sure you weren't just skipping so you could spend time with your boyfriend?" by that point chanhee felt too pissed so he decided he just wanted to make it clear that he knew what younghoon was hiding from him even if he wasn't lying about having work to do.

the line went silent for a bit as younghoon didn't know how to respond. " _chanhee_ ," he began a while after but he couldn't come up with much to say. _"i really had work. but let me explain about all this_."

"you will explain tomorrow. i'm really too exhausted now."

" _alright_."


	6. Chapter 6

sunwoo walked into his apartment, out of breath because he had walked so fast that he was almost running all the way from the train station.

he quickly spammed eric with texts about what had just happened and how frustrated and annoyed he was and how he couldn't even go anywhere else away from chanhee since the train was so packed. then he walked into his bedroom and just threw himself on the bed, face down. without even making an effort to take his bag off.

he groaned into his pillow and threw a mini tantrum that lasted only a few seconds. he quickly recollected himself and got up, tossing his bag on the floor next to the foot of the bed. he went to take a quick shower before he could change into his everyday clothes.

the rest of his evening was spent in him doing his homework and eating what was left in his fridge because there wasn't much left and he was hungry so he had to eat it so it wouldn't go bad.

before he knew it, it was two in the morning and sunwoo had just finished doing his homework. he was once again hungry but he knew there was nothing left in the fridge. he couldn't just go to bed hungry so he had to go to the nearest supermarket.

nearest supermarket that worked at night too, of course. which wasn't that near. all the convenience stores near his apartment complex didn't happen to be from the ones that worked 24/7.

he walked around five minutes until he reached the supermarket. he used being there as an opportunity to do the grocery shopping he needed to do either way. while he was just calmly picking up vegetables he needed for cooking, he heard someone else walking into the supermarket. he wondered what kind of a weirdo besides him would be awake at 2am and go to the supermarket but when he turned around and saw it was chanhee he was very obviously not very excited to find out.

"oh come on," chanhee said with a defeated expression the moment he also saw sunwoo. obviously, the feeling was more than mutual. "why are you literally everywhere?!"

sunwoo once again decided not to say anything at all to him. he just rolled his eyes before turning his back on him and continuing with his grocery shopping.

although chanhee tried to walk up to him a few times and talk to him, sunwoo just ignored these attempts and when he was done and took everything he needed, he went up to the cash register to pay for his things.

he didn't waste much time after paying and putting everything in a shopping bag. he went out of the supermarket and headed back home.

at times he felt like he could hear someone else's steps besides his own, which was just him being paranoid but he still looked back a few times just to make sure that it wasn't chanhee suddenly deciding to follow him to his house.

he could only hope the older wasn't like that and it was just a coincidence they were ending up at the same place so often. after all, chanhee had the absolute same reaction that sunwoo did when he saw him in the supermarket.

when he came back to his apartment, he was not only hungry but grumpy too. luckily, that changed once he made himself a bowl of instant noodles.

he wasn't planning on sleeping any time soon so he went in his room and sat at the desk, turning his laptop on. while eating his noodles, he decided he could do some detective work.

he spent some time looking through juyeon's friend list until he found chanhee's profile. he looked through his posts and photos, finding out it was mostly stage plays he was at and selfies of him and his friends. mostly him. there was barely anything else and sunwoo was already convinced that chanhee was quite full of himself and was very confident in his looks.

well, of course, he couldn't blame him. chanhee had a really pretty face. it was difficult to leave that unnoticed. and maybe that contributed to him being so popular.

apparently, not popular enough for sunwoo to know him, though. but sunwoo didn't know anyone so that wasn't anything new.

on top of that, knowing about chanhee's existence wasn't benefiting him or his life in any way, so why would he care that he was the star of the university.

if anything else, right now knowing about chanhee's existence was giving him a headache.

he couldn't even spam eric about what happened in the supermarket because eric was a weirdo who went to bed early and left the sound of his notifications on even while he slept. but he probably wouldn't be able to wait until the early noon when they'd see each other so he was ready to take the risk.

he texted him and when eric was seemingly not waking up from the sounds of all the notifications, sunwoo continued doing what he was previously doing - looking through chanhee's profile as if he had any business doing so.

another thing that sunwoo found out was that chanhee wasn't only very confident in himself but he was also awfully clingy. sunwoo probably noticed it just because he was usually not clingy at all and didn't like that much of closeness but chanhee really didn't have any photo with another person where he wasn't hugging them. he didn't even want to imagine what being his friend would be like.

or then again, he could be wrong about it and chanhee wasn't that clingy and did it only just for the photos. there was no way he could know and he was just left to assume.

but one thing was for sure, it was beyond weird of him to just keep stalking the boy's profile so he just went back to the home page, deciding he'd scroll around a little until he could get himself to be sleepy enough to go to bed.

while he was doing so, he received a notification for a friend request.

really, the last thing he expected was receiving a request from choi chanhee himself. yet there he was.

of course, he just closed his laptop and went to wash the empty bowl, then he went to bed. he wasn't planning on accepting that any time soon.


	7. Chapter 7

as expected, chanhee was on the train the next morning too and obviously so was sunwoo. but luckily there weren't many people and they were sitting at the two opposite ends. sunwoo was pretending that he never even saw chanhee there. it was more convenient for him like that.

but he was unlucky after that because chanhee tried to approach him.

"hey," the older boy said as he caught up with sunwoo, walking alongside with him and looking at him.

sunwoo only glared at him and raised his eyebrows slightly as a way to tell him to stay away from him and that he had no intentions to talk to him. after that, he went back to ignoring chanhee even though the latter was still walking with him all the way to the faculty. he didn't say anything else so that was good, he guessed.

not long after they reached the building, sunwoo saw hyunjoon and he took the opportunity to walk away from chanhee and go up to his friend. he only glanced at the pink haired boy before going to hyunjoon and roughly grabbing him by the arm, pulling him with himself inside the building and heading towards the vending machine on the first floor.

"what's gotten into you?" hyunjoon hit sunwoo's arm before the red head let go of him.

"nothing," sunwoo mumbled out, acting like he didn't just drag the boy for all these meters.

he searched inside his pockets for coins and when he had enough in his palm, he took them out to count them. then, he bought two bottles of iced coffee like he always did. one was for eric and one was for himself.

"what do you have now?" sunwoo turned to hyunjoon who was now buying something for himslelf to drink from the vending machine.

"uh." hyunjoon looked down at the beverage he had just taken and frowned. he then looked at sunwoo, his frown not disappearing from his face. "dude don't ask me questions like that, i will find out the answer to that when i see someone from my course."

sunwoo snorted and shook his head, patting hyunjoon on the shoulder. "better find out sooner. i'm gonna be skipping the first lectures until eric comes here."

"why are you here so early then?" hyunjoon questioned.

the other shrugged lightly. "no idea honestly. just routine, i guess."

they hung out for a little bit more before hyunjoon finally found someone who he was supposed to have lectures with and went with them. sunwoo couldn't hang out in the yard or the cafeteria because he didn't want any teacher to see him and question him why was he skipping lectures. so as any other sane person, he decided to go on the rooftop of the building and chill there until it was time for eric to come.

as he was making his way to the stairs that lead to the rooftop, he was hearing voices the closer he was getting.

"are you serious?" the first voice sounded oddly familiar to sunwoo. not only familiar but beyond pissed too. "why would you do something like that to your own best friend?"

sunwoo climbed up a few stairs just so he could poke his head above surface and see who was there. he rolled his eyes so hard. it could be no one else but chanhee. and another guy that he didn't know but only recognized he was a fourth year.

"it really has nothing to do with you," the other boy tried explaining himself but chanhee really did look enraged.

"in what way does this have nothing to do with me? you perfectly know i like changmin and you still decide to go after him and date him behind my back while literally everyone else but me knows about it."

as sunwoo tried getting closer to hear better, he accidentally stumbled on the steps and jumped down, successfully making a lot of noise.

both boys on the rooftop looked at the direction of the stairs but couldn't see sunwoo. his presence was obvious either way.

"apparently someone's eavesdropping," younghoon said loud enough for sunwoo to hear. "i'll be heading to class. if you decide you want to talk normally, just call me."

"sure. because when i'm pointing out why you're in the wrong it's not a normal conversation."

sunwoo heard steps towards the staircase so he quickly moved aside so he could hide.

only younghoon came down and made sure to look around to see who had made that noise. but the red haired boy was hiding too well for the other to see him. either that or he was just not paying enough attention.

when the older walked away, sunwoo went back to the stairs and climbed up on the rooftop. he didn't have anywhere else to go right now and at this point he really didn't care that chanhee was also there.

he walked over to the edge, a few meters away from where chanhee was sitting, and also sat down.

"you again," chanhee said as he glanced at sunwoo. there's no need to even mention that sunwoo wasn't planning on answering. the pink haired boy sighed. "you heard the whole conversation?" sunwoo shook his head.

silence fell between them once again. sunwoo was looking at the scenery ahead of himself while chanhee was just staring at his hands and playing with his fingers.

at one point sunwoo was about to open his mouth and say something but he really had no idea what. so he just kept his silence. while chanhee had talked to him a few times so far, sunwoo had never spoken to him or even made an attempt. and now it felt weird if he were to actually speak.

"you don't seem very talkative," chanhee mentioned a while later. he had stretched his legs out and propped his hands behind himself, leaning against them. he tilted his head back and closed his eyes, enjoying the sunlight. "it's not a bad thing though. i even envy you that you're able to do that. considering i can't shut up for a minute even if i try."

 _as expected from a theater kid_ , sunwoo thought.


	8. Chapter 8

chanhee had eventually moved to sit a little bit closer to sunwoo but he was still keeping some distance between them since so far the younger had done a lot of things to make it obvious that he was more or less uncomfortable with chanhee's presence. or at least that was the impression he was left with.

"i really wonder why we always end up at the same place," chanhee thought out loud.

he really hadn't stopped talking over the past hour they were sitting on the rooftop. he was talking about so many things that sunwoo couldn't even remember more than a half of them. he really meant it when he said he wasn't able to stop talking.

"i mean, there was no way i'd know you were in the supermarket in the middle of the night but we still somehow ended up there at the same time. and it's not like you had any idea i was here yet you came here. we just constantly bump into each other." he kept on rambling and rambling. he knew he wouldn't be getting a response either way so he was at least getting an use of it. "it could really be just a coincidence but do you think so many coincidences happen all at once just like that?" he tilted his head to look at sunwoo.

sunwoo looked back at chanhee and shook his head.

this whole time his only responses were either him shaking or nodding his head or making small gestures with his hands and that was all. at least chanhee didn't seem annoyed or offended by the fact sunwoo wouldn't speak to him.

"i know that by this point you're probably very annoyed by seeing me everywhere," the older let out a chuckle and looked up at the sky. "i mean you're kind of making it obvious, you know. but i don't blame you though. i'd also be annoyed if i were you. and i know i have nothing to do with other people's actions but i'm sorry there were people following you around and spreading rumors."

sunwoo hummed quietly.

after a while, chanhee's phone rang and disturbed the calm atmosphere between them. chanhee picked up but didn't talk for too long. as soon as he hung up, he put his phone back in his pocket and got up, causing sunwoo to look up at him.

"sorry, i have to go," chanhee explained and took his bag, slinging it over his shoulder. "there's probably no point in saying this but i guess we'd most likely see each other later." sunwoo once again nodded with a light smile and waved at chanhee who waved back at him and went to the stairs.

sunwoo was left all alone on the rooftop after that and there was still more time until eric would decide he wanted to go to lectures. he set an alarm on his phone and laid down , closing his eyes. he put his arms under his head to use as a pillow of some sort and relaxed.

he ended up taking a small nap so time could pass faster. at least when chanhee was there he wasn't bored. but he was most definitely not complaining about being able to take a nap either.

he almost ended up sleeping through his alarms, though. in most cases he wouldn't be complaining about getting to sleep more but that was not one of them. he sat up and rubbed his eyes, looking around himself and blinking lazily while he was trying to wake up. he stretched his arms and legs a little before getting up and taking his bag, heading to the back exit of the faculty.

eric arrived the same moment sunwoo went out and the older immediately went up to him, grabbing him by the shoulders and looking him in the eyes with the most serious expression he could pull off.

"eric, i don't know if i'm going crazy or not but chanhee actually isn't that bad for hanging out with," sunwoo said before giving eric a chance to even say hi.

eric frowned and raised his hand up, pressing it against sunwoo's forehead and pretending to check if he had a fever. then, he suddenly gasped. "i've concluded, you really are crazy." he suddenly pushed sunwoo's hands away from himself. "dude what's wrong with you all of a sudden? aren't you the same person who was complaining about chanhee's existence at three in the morning?"

"you don't understand," sunwoo whined, trying to defend himself.

"i'm really not trying to."

sunwoo rolled his eyes and grabbed eric by the arm, leading him to the cafeteria. "i got you iced coffee again, by the way," he mentioned as they were walking.

"the one i like?" eric got excited all of a sudden and looked at sunwoo with a big smile. sunwoo just nodded lightly. "you're seriously the best friend i could ever have even though i'm seriously questioning your sanity sometimes."

sunwoo only chuckled and shook his head lightly.

they sat at a table nearby the big windows of the cafeteria. sunwoo went on and explained everything about seeing chanhee in the supermarket in the middle of the night, the friend request that chanhee had sent him, and most importantly - them two hanging out on the rooftop. he also didn't miss out on explaining why chanhee was there with younghoon in the first place.

"he also said something similar to what you had told me," sunwoo added. "that it's no coincidence that we always end up at the same place."

eric hummed and propped his elbows on top of the table, thinking about what his friend had told him. he was rubbing his chin lightly. "well, i mean, if he also thinks that, then we have a point."

"there's one problem though."

"what is it?" the younger raised his eyebrows lightly.

"i've never said a single word to him. the first few times it was just because i didn't even have the chance to say anything but now it would be so awkward to suddenly say something."

eric straight up laughed at him as he heard that. "are you really worried about that?" sunwoo only shrugged in response. "well, since you're doing it either way, you can maybe also see for how long you will be able to go without saying anything to him in case you hang out with him again."

"then what if i'm around you or someone else and he's also there?"

"still applies."


	9. Chapter 9

chanhee was tapping his foot against the floor as he was looking around the whole cafeteria, searching for a table he could possibly sit at.

usually, he always sat at the same table as his friends from the theater club but now that was the last place he wanted to go to since younghoon was there. in his opinion, he was being only _slightly_ petty about it. but petty or not, he still didn't have anywhere else to sit.

that was what he thought until he noticed juyeon and sunwoo sitting at the same table with some other people he barely recognized from afar. he decided he could try to self invite himself there.

he walked over to the table and smiled sweetly at the boys sitting there, resting his hands against the wooden surface and slightly leaning against it. "can i sit here with you?" he asked, looking at juyeon first, then at sunwoo. but his eyes shifted back on juyeon, knowing that he probably wouldn't get an answer from the red head.

"yeah, of course," juyeon responded before they both looked around the table to see where there was an empty place he could sit at. at first it didn't seem like he could possibly sit anywhere but eric pulled sunwoo closer to himself, so there was space for him on his other side.

sunwoo was staring at chanhee for a few seconds but he eventually moved even closer to eric and patted the empty space on the bench next to himself. the pink haired boy just smiled awkwardly before sitting next to the younger.

"did they kick you from the drama club table or something?" juyeon questioned.

chanhee shook his head and took out the chocolate milk he had in his bag, setting it on the table and ripping off the straw, taking it out of the wrapper and then stabbing through the small foil circle on top. he took a sip of his milk before clearing his throat a bit and speaking again. "not at all, i just don't want to be there when younghoon is there too. i'm currently not on good terms with him."

"drama in the drama club," sunwoo said, probably being the only one at the table except chanhee who knew what was going on between him and younghoon.

at that moment his mouth was working quicker than his brain and he realized he wasn't supposed to speak around chanhee only after eric looked at him with gritted teeth and kicked his leg under the table.

the pink haired boy was surprised to finally hear sunwoo say something for the first time. he never even tried imagining what his voice could sound like.

he was looking at him with wide eyes until he quickly looked away as sunwoo was about to return his gaze. he then took another sip from his milk, focusing his attention on something else other than the boy sitting next to him.

needless to say sunwoo didn't speak again until the end of the lunch break and was probably going to continue keeping quiet around chanhee.

when he was just about to get up and leave the cafeteria so he could go to his next class, he suddenly felt chanhee's hand slightly pulling on the sleeve of his shirt. he looked at him slightly confused and raised an eyebrow questioningly at him.

chanhee leaned closer towards sunwoo, his hand still slightly clutching onto his sleeve but he let go soon after. "do you want to come to the drama club with me after classes?" chanhee asked, almost whispering. even after asking that, sunwoo still had the same expression on his face. "i'm not making you come if you have something else to do or just don't want to. i'm just asking."

the other boy pulled away. he thought about it for a moment, then only sighed quietly and nodded even though that wasn't even a clear answer to chanhee's question. he then got up and headed out with eric.

the only guess he could make on why did chanhee ask him in the first place was that younghoon could be there. but he was pretty sure he was guessing wrong because chanhee surely had actual friends, not some guy he's been seeing here and there.

then again, younghoon might not even be a part of the drama club but just someone who hangs out there. which was unlikely but sunwoo knew completely nothing about any of the clubs. and it was just guesses, after all.

for a while he was seriously contemplating if he should actually go or just catch the train and go home right after his last lecture. he didn't talk with eric about it either because neither of them brought it up at all.

but as soon as his classes finished, he made eric walk him to the theater club.

he couldn't go by himself because no pep talk on earth could make him stop from walking straight towards the train station and not even thinking about going to a place where he didn't know anyone. he was way too anxious to do that alone and he felt much more comfortable when he brought his best friend for moral support. but unfortunately for him, eric had his own club activities to attend, so sunwoo was left alone after all.

he had made it that far already, though. he couldn't back out now. chanhee was probably going to feel disappointed if he didn't see him even though he invited him. he was well aware that no one was even forcing him to go but there was a certain amount of guilt making him do it.

taking a deep breath, he walked into the small theater-like room. it was dimly lit, the main lights were turned off and the rest were facing only towards the small stage. there was even less space of the room for where an audience is supposed to be. it was full of school chairs, some of them stacked on top of each other.

apparently, there were other people who were there just for the sake of sitting there and watching the club rehearse. but then again, they weren't too many because the available space in the room wasn't anything much either.

sunwoo ended up sitting at a chair that was farther from the stage.

for some reason he felt even more nervous than he was before walking in.


End file.
